Netherlands ranks second worst country for traffic congestion

The Netherlands ranks second worst country for traffic congestion of all European and North American countries.

Only Belgian drivers waste more hours in traffic jams according to American study by INRIX who analysed the data of some 100 million drivers using GPS. The INRIX Traffic Scorecard provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of traffic congestion across the world.

It shows that in 2011 Dutch drivers wasted 50 hours in traffic, 4 hours less than 2010

INRIX®, a leading international provider of traffic information and intelligent driver services, released the INRIX Traffic Scorecard showing a 17 percent decrease in traffic congestion worldwide in 2011 –11 percent in theU.K.

“So goes traffic, so goes the economy. Traffic congestion is an excellent economic indicator telling us whether people are going to work, businesses are shipping products and consumers are spending money,” said Stuart Marks, Senior Vice President of INRIX Europe. “As the European Union decides how to best help countries like Spain and Italy, the report not only validates the extent of the debt crisis in these countries but indicates who might be next.”

Among the 13 European nations analysed, the countries impacted the most by the European debt crisis mirror those with the largest drops in traffic congestion. Portugal (-49%), Ireland (-25%), Spain (-15%) and Italy (12%) were among those with the largest declines last year. Despite being considered the strongest European economies, troubles across the Eurozone fueled declines in Germany (-8%), Netherlands (-7%) and Belgium (-3%). In comparing 2011 to 2010, France showed change of less than 1%.

Analysis of traffic congestion in the first five months of 2012 shows even further declines. With France showing a 3 percent decline, the drop in traffic congestion extended from 8 to 9 of the 13 European Countries analysed in the report. By comparison, the strength of Germany’s economy fueled by modest employment growth (+1.3 percent) resulted in a 6 percent increase in traffic congestion in the first five months of this year.

According to the INRIX Index(1), Europe’s Top 10 Worst Countries for Traffic Congestion in 2011 were:

Luxembourg, Hungary and Ireland complete the list respectively among the 13 European countries analysed. By comparison, the U.S. ranked 2nd to last on the list compared with Europe, just ahead of Ireland. Canada ranked 7th with better congestion levels than France, UK and Italy.

By analysing traffic on major motorways across Europe, the Scorecard provides a comprehensive snapshot into the intractable issues of urban traffic congestion. According to the report, the Top 25 Most Congested Cities in Europe(3) are:

Milan, Italy

Brussels, Belgium

Antwerp, Belgium

Paris, France

Manchester, U.K.

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rome, Italy

London, U.K.

Utrecht, Netherlands

Florence, Italy

Liverpool, U.K.

Barcelona, Spain

Madrid, Spain

Gent, Belgium

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Belfast, U.K.

Stuttgart, Germany

Koln, Germany

Lyon, France

Bordeaux, France

Hamburg, Germany

Newcastle, U.K.

Nottingham, U.K.

Seville, Spain

s Gravenhage, Netherlands

The INRIX Traffic Scorecard is based on analysis of billions of raw data points from INRIX’s own historical traffic database of approximately 100 million vehicles traveling the roads everyday including taxis, airport shuttles, service delivery vans, long haul trucks as well as consumer vehicles and mobile devices. Each data report from these GPS-equipped vehicles and devices includes the speed, location and heading of a particular vehicle at a reported date and time. In creating the Scorecard, INRIX analyses information for more than 1 million kilometers of motorways and secondary roads in Europe and more than 1 million miles of roads in North America during every hour of the day to generate the most comprehensive and timely congestion analyses to date, covering the largest metropolitan areas in 15 countries.

The same data used to generate the Scorecard also powers INRIX Traffic, a free app that helps drivers avoid frustrating delays stuck in traffic. The app helps drivers never be late with insights from the world’s largest traffic network into the fastest routes from home to work, recommended departure and travel times, traffic forecasts and personalised traffic alerts unique to driver’s routes. Just released, Scorecard highlights are also featured on the app. More information about INRIX Traffic can be found at http://inrixtraffic.com.